MBALA OR PINDI, DRC

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Like many cultures across central Africa, the Mbala and Pende used their skill in metalworking to craft extravagant ceremonial weapons. These remarkable objects can push the sculptural form of a weapon to the limit, attaining a kind of artistic metamorphosis. As symbols of status, they were owned by individuals of ample means and social standing who carried them at community events. The materials with which they were constructed – metals like copper and bronze, as well as ivory and fur – also communicated wealth.

This handsome axe features a dramatically curved, parabola-shaped blade projecting out from the top of the haft by a slender horizontal bar, a design widely used for this type of prestige piece. The finial placed opposite the blade is fully decorated with brass tacks and plating, and juts out with an anthropomorphic quality, suggesting a head and neck. Tightly wrapped wire covers the entire grip. The axe is dominated by brass tones, pulling together its sculptural elements in a strong aesthetic unity.

and the living community. In these complex and sometimes overlapping contexts, tobacco paraphernalia carried layers of meaning that made them precious and symbolically charged objects.